Duluth, Minnesota - Government

Government

Main articles: Duluth City Council and Neighborhoods of Duluth, Minnesota See also: List of mayors of Duluth, Minnesota

The present mayor of Duluth is Don Ness, who took office in 2008.

Duluth is located in Minnesota's 8th congressional district, represented by Republican Chip Cravaack.

As of 2009, the city has a major budget deficit. The deficit has affected city services such as street maintenance, water service, and gas and sanitary sewer maintenance, and it has forced the reduction or elimination of many city-managed social programs. All of these compounded problems have resulted in city staff reductions. The sanitary sewer overflow problems have forced some residents to disconnect their home drainage systems from the sanitary sewer system at significant cost to the homeowner and have been a source of contention.

In 2004, Duluth was center to a separation-of-church-and-state legal battle between the city council, local residents, and the American Civil Liberties Union. The debate and eventual lawsuit revolved around a marble fixture on the lawn of City Hall. The fixture was inscribed with the Ten Commandments. The city eventually agreed to remove the fixture. It is now resides on private property near the Comfort Suites Hotel on Canal Park Drive.

The city was featured in the New York Times article "The Next Retirement Time Bomb" because Duluth conducted a financial study of the health care benefits promised to retired city employees. The study concluded that future health care obligations would bankrupt Duluth's government. The article treats Duluth as representative of many local governments that have not kept tabs on future health care obligations promised to city retirees. The Duluth News Tribune portrayed prior mayor John Fedo in an unflattering light with regard to responsibility in this. For decades local officials, including former mayor Gary Doty, have acquired shared responsibility. The reason, according to the paper, is that unions are powerful in the area and winning their favor is a major factor in being elected.

During the 2000 presidential election, Green Party candidate Ralph Nader received over 7.0% of votes from Duluth residents, one of the highest Green Party percentages in the country for a city with a population of at least 85,000.